Hi John,

Thanks so much for the letter. Glad to hear you are getting an African education and that your Swahili is coming along. Your adventurous trip to Great Zimbabwe sounds very exciting. Be careful. There is no doubt that the site is African, not European. Virtually all the research on it this century confirms its African origins. Cecil Rhodes had a racist imagination. A public school teacher student of mine spent a semester looking into it from an historiographical perspective. When you return I will share his paper with you.

You have missed four hurricanes. Africa has been busy sending us lots of wind and rain. I sometimes like to believe it is a matter of getting even for past wrongs. Bertha was bad enough, but Fran hit Greenville and much of the Piedmont badly with winds up to 90 miles per hour. Topsail Island is supposedly three islands now--I cannot confirm that though. Wrightsville Beach was virtually destroyed. You are having all the fun in Dar while we clean up the mess here!

Take good care. Keep in touch. East Carolina won its first football game. West Virginia is next this Saturday. Go Pirates!--Dr. K.